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It’s a “Scary” Thought All Right

3/14/2006

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It’s a “Scary” Thought All Right:Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) posed a question for the new Congressional Guard and Reserve Commission to ponder: What would happen to the air bridge to Southwest Asia if the Guard and Reserve aircrews “all of a sudden” stopped flying? Graham, who is an Air Force Reservist himself, provided the answer: “I think it would be a scary scenario for this country.” Graham earlier noted, “The air bridge between the United States and the Mideast is being flown predominantly by reservists.” And, that doesn’t count the Air Guardsmen and Reservists who fly within the theater. Graham, as were other lawmaker witnesses at the first commission hearing last week, was concerned that the reserve components are being utilized at an all-time high with no end in sight. Graham does not believe the current “amazingly good” recruiting and retention can “sustain itself.”